Machine for placing loaves in pans



APPLICATION FILED OCT. 21'. 1919.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

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w. D. ROGERS AND H. E. MERRILL. MACHINE FOR PLACING LOAVES m FANS.

- APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2|. l9l9- I 1 57,476, Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

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w. 0. ROGERS AND H. E. MERRILL. MACHINE FOR PLACING LOAVES IN PANS.

APPLICATION man 0U. 21. m9. v

'- Patented N 0v. 2, 1920.

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WILLIAM D. ROGERS,

OF NEWTON, KANSAS, AND HARRY E. MERRILL; OF MOUNT WASHINGTON, MISSOURI.

MACHINE FOR PLACING LOAVES IN PANS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we WILLIAM D. Iloonns and HARRY E. Mnmumi citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Newton in the county of Harvey and State of Kansas and at Mount Washington in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in- Machines for Placing Loaves in Fans of which the following is a specification.

Our invention seeks to. provide means whereby formed loaves will be automatically and mechanically deposited in pans and carried to the ovens for baking. The in vention seeks to provide a simple compact and inexpensive mechanism ,whereby the formed loaves received from a. dough-molding machine will be carried to a point of discharge and there deposited .in pans successively brought into position to receive the loaves. The invention also includes the provision of means for bringing the clean pans to a point below the means for receiving the loaves from the molding machine and then automatically transferring the pans to a point where they may receive the formed loaves. The invention also seeks to provide automatic means for depositing the loaves successively in the pans and for temporarily arresting the movement of the pans to permit a loaf to be deposited.

One-embodiment of our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying our improvements;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. partly broken away;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a detail section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section of the means for stopping the pans;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 21. 1919.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

Serial No. 232.255.

7. the line, 7-7 in this figure indicating the plane of the section in Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a detail section on the line 9-9 of Fig.8;

Figs. 10 and 11 are diagrammatic views illustrating the operation ofthe stops.

In carrying out our invention, we employ a plurality of posts or standards 1 and to these posts or standards we secure beams 2- rollers at one end of the machine have their end trunnions or axles extended through longitudinal slots 6 in the beams and belttighteners 7 are suitably mounted on the ends of the beams and engage the said axles or trunnions so that the rollers may be readily adjusted when necessary to tighten the belts and conipensatefm stretching thereof. It will be noted that the beams 2 are arranged or provided in two pairs and that the belt 4 disposed between two of the beams and carried by the rollers 5 is someflwhat longer than the belt 8 disposed between the other pair of beams. At the end of the frame remote from the belt-tighteners 7, we dispose between the inner beams 2 a pair of gears 9 and 10, the gear?) being secured on the inner end of the driving shaft 11 which carries the roller 5 for the belt 4 and is equipped with a pulley 12 and a spur gear 13 while the gear 10 is secured on the inner end of the shaft or axle of the roller '14 supporting one bight of the belt or conveyer 8. In this manner we obtain the clesired reversed or opposed travel of the two belts so that empty pans placed upon the conveyer 8 will be brought toward the gears 9 and 10 while pans upon the conveyer 4 will be carried inthe opposite direction, and

it will be understood that this belt 4 may be ofany desired length so that the filled pans may be transferred directly to the ovens or to racks or other supports if the loaves are not to be baked at once. The posts or standards 1 are carried above the beamsQ,

as shown clearly in Figs. 3 and 4, and upper beams 15 are secured to the posts at that side of the machine at which the belt or conveyer 4 is disposed. An apron or conveyer 16 is mounted upon suitable rollers 17 car ried by the beams 15 and the roller 17 at the end of the apparatus has its shaft or axle extended, as shown at 18, and equipped with a spur gear 19 and a large bevel gear 20. The gear 19 meshes with an idler 21 which alsomeshes with the spur gear 13 so that when the driving shaft is rotated the several belts will be operated, the belt 16 traveling in the same direction and at approximately the same speed as the belt 4 while the belt or conveyer 8 travels in the opposite direction and at a slightly higher speed.

Above the conveyer 8 at the side of the apparatus remote from the conveyer 16, a beam 22 connects the upper ends of the posts 1 and transverse guide rods 23 extend to the opDosi-te side "of the machine where they are supported above the conveyer 4 by brackets 24 disposed at any convenient point of the supporting structure and rigidly secured to fixed members of the same. Journaled at one end in the beam 22 is a worm 25 which extends transversely of the appartus and projects beyond the side of the machine where opposed miter gears 26 and 27 are secured to the extremity of the worm which is reduced and smooth, as shown at 28 in Fig.

. 6, to permit the shaft to be suitably journaled in the frame and also have the gears 26 and 27 easily fitted thereto. A bracket 29 is secured to the outer side of the adjacent beam 15 and this bracket is constructed with a longitudinal slot 30 to accommodate the end of a shaft 31 which is equipped with a bevel gear 32 arranged to mesh with either of the gears 26 and 27 or be maintained in a neutral position between the same. At the end of the shaft 31 remote from the gear 32,

a bevel pinion 33 is secured thereto and said pinion meshes with the bevel gear 20 whereby the shaft 31 may be driven by the driving shaft 11. A shifting rod 34 is slidably supported in the beam 22 and has its end adjacent said beam equipped with a handle 35,

whereby it may be manually manipulated,

and its opposite endconstructed with an eye 36 encircling the shaft 31 so that by properly adjusting the shifting rod 34 the gear 32 may be caused to mesh with either ofthe gears 26 or 27 the shaft 31 being providedwith a universal joint 37 to accommodate this shifting of the gear. Disposed above the conveyers and parallel therewith is a follower or pusher 38 which has its central portion 39 formed into a nut which engages the worm 25 so that as the worm is rotated in one or the other direction the pusher will be caused to travel from the conveyer 8 to the conveyer 4 and vice versa. The ends of the pusher are formed into eyes 40 which slid- At one end of the pusher is a lateral arm 43 which projects over the conveyer 8 when the pusher is delivering pans onto the conveyer 4 so that a second pan or gang of pans cannot pass to a position in rear of the.

pusher but will be held against traveling with the conveyer 8 until the pusher has returned to its initial position. At that side of the supporting structure 'which carries the driving mechanism, we pivotally secure the rocking arms 44 which extend upwardly and inwardly above the conveyer 4 and at their upper ends carry a trip bar 45. At an intermediate point of this bar 45, we se cure a shifting arm 46 which has one end turned upwardly and forked, as shown at 47 to engage the shaft 31, as shown clearly in Fig. 5. When pans have been pushed laterally onto the conveyer 4 they will bear against the rocker or trip bar and will thereby push the shaft 31, through the arm 46, to a neutral position and the movement of the worm 25 and the pusher will be temporarily arrested. When the pan has been carried beyond the end of the bar 45 by the conveyer 4, the weight of the rocker bar and the parts cooperating therewith will cause it to swing inwardly and thereby carry the gear 32 into mesh with the gear 26 so that the travel of the worm will be reversed and the pusher brought back to its initial position. A lever 71 carrying a weight '72 at its upper free end is pivoted at 73 upon the bracket 29 above the shaft 31, the lower end of the lever being formed into a fork 74 enga ing the shaft.

t the end of the frame, adjacent the gears 9 and 10, we secure a longitudinally adjustable bracket 48 having a lateral stop arm 49 projecting over the conveyer 8 so that pans carried in front of the pusher by the said conveyer will be prevented from moving beyond the pusher and dropping over the end of the conveyer. similar guide or stop 49 is secured upon the frame so as to prevent the pans shifting backwardly from the conveyer 4 and also limiting the movement of the pusher so that A somewhat it will not tend to force the pans over the outer edge of the conveyer 4. To aid in bringing the pans into properposition upon the conveyer 8, guide flanges or runs 50 are between the beams 2 between the two conveyers so that an uninterrupted path for the pans will be provided to aid in the transfer thereof from the conveyer 8 to the conveyer 4. As shown-in Fig. 5 this bridge plate 51 extends under the-conveyer 8 and projects slightly over the inner edge of the conveyer 4 while at the outer edge of the bridge plate is a stop and guide 52 which '.tending therefrom. A dropper 56 consisting of a scoop like plate is secured to the rock shaft, 54 and is normallyheld with its edge adjacent the conveyer 16 by the weighted arm 55, as shown clearly in Fig. 3, and this scoop or dropper should be of such dimensions that it will support a formed loaf received from the aid conveyer. Below the dropper, a series of guide rollers 57 are disposed between the beams 2 at that side of the machine and the conveyer 4 is carried over the upper of said rollers and under the intermediate roller, as shown clearly in Fig. 3, whereby a space is provided in which the pans may be temporarily halted to receive the loaves. To support the pans while they are thus temporarily halted, a plate 58 is secured between the beams 2 substantially in the plane of the upper rollers 57 and over the lower roller 57-. Below the plate or platform 58, a base plate 59 is secured to and between the beams 2 and on the said base plate we provide sockets 60 in which springs 61 are housed while plunger stops 62 have their stems or plungers 63 extending into the said sockets and bearing upon the said springs, as shown clearly in Fig. 8. The stops 62 project upwardly through slots 64 in the platform 58 and extend into the path of the.pans so that a pan coming into contact with one of the stops will be arrested and momentarily held until a loaf is dropped into it. To release thepan, levers 65 are disposed within the housing provided by the platform 58 and the base plate 59., each lever having its inner end pivoted to a plunger or stem 63 and its outer end pivoted to a lug 66 on the wall of a projecting casing 67 carried by the beam 2 and the platform 58. A 'pitman 68 is pivoted at its lower end to a lever 69 which is fulcruined upon the beam 2 and extends into the casing 67 to bear upon the lever 65 therein, the upper end of the pitman 68 being pivoted to a crank 70 on the end of the rock shaft 54. it will thus be seen that when the shaft 54 is rocked to let a loaf drop to a pan the pitman 68 will be lowered and will thereby act upon the lovers 69 and 65 so that the stops 62 will be depressed against the force engagement with the pan.

of the springs 61 and the pan permitted to pass. A set screw 7 5 is fitted in the wall of each socket 60 to bear upon the stem 63 therein and hold the same lowered when occasion demands.

In the operation of the machine, the empty pans are placed upon the conveyer 8 and are carried by it to a position in front of the pusher 38 which is withdrawn to its extreme position at the outer edge of said conveyer. When a pan or gang of pans has reached a position in front of the pusher, the rod 34 is manually pulled across the machine so that the gear 32 will be thrown into mesh with the gear 26 and the worm 25 will be thereby rotated 'so that the pusher will be caused to travel across the apparatus and the pans in front of the pusher will be forced to slide across the belt 8 and the bridge 51 onto the belt or apron 4. This 'movement of the pans will continue until they abut the rocking trip bar 45 which will be thereupon pushed outward and the arm 46 connected therewith will be rocked so that the gear 32 will be released from the gear 26 and held in neutral position. In the meanwhile loaves have been deposited successively upon the conveyer 16 and by the time the first pan reaches a position over the platform 58 a loaf will be caught and held by the scoop or dropper 56. 'When the entire weight of the loaf is imposed on the dropper by reason of the loaf clearing the conveyer 16, the dropper will swing downwardly and outwardly so that the loaf will fall into the pan on the platform and this rocking of the dropper will actuate the stops'62 to release the pan so that it may resume its travel.

When only one loaf is to be placed in each pan, the second stop 62 (counting in the direction of travel of the pans) is held down permanently, (see Fig. 10) this result being attained by depressing the stop and then turning the set screw home against the stem 63. The projecting stop 62 will arrest the travel of the pans just when a loaf is delivered onto the dropper immediately adjacent the lower edge of the same. The weight of the loaf will rock the dropper and the shaft 54 so that the loaf will drop to the pan. Simultaneously with the dropping of the loaf, the pitman 68 will be forced downward by the rocking of the shaft 54 thereby depressing the' levers 69 and65 and withdrawing the stop from its The pan will then resumeits travel, being pushed across the plate 58 by the succeeding pans which are resting directly on the con'vey er 4; The dropper will return to normal position instantly 'upon being relieved of the weight of the loaf and the pitman 68 and lever 69 will, of course,'lil ewise return to normal. The stop,' however, will then be under the traveling pan and consequently will be held down until the pan has cleared it when it will at once be projected by the spring 61 into the space between the lower portions of the adjacent pans and will stop the second pan, the filled pan having been pushed onto the second stretch of the conveyer and continuing to the point of delivery. The described operation may then be repeated indefinitely.

When two loaves are to be placed in each pan, both stops are left free to act and the delivery of the first loaf is according to the operation just described. When the dropper, however, returns to normal position, the second stop will rise while the first stop will be held down by the pan which will, therefore, be again arrested by the second stop to receive a second loaf while the first stop is still held down (see Fig. 11}. When the second loaf i delivered, the second stop will be depressed and will be held down until the pan clears it, the first stop, meanwhile, springing up to arrest the second pan.

if the attendant charged with the duty of placing pans upon the conveyer 8' should leave the machine, the faster travel of the conveyer will carry the pans to position in front of the pusher at a speed which will practically eliminate any possible gap in the succession of pans on the conveyer 4.

In starting the machine, the'pulley 12 may be turned by hand until the brackets 48 and 49 are properly adjusted and the supply of pans extendsto the stops 62 and is sufiicient to meet the demands of continuous automatic operation whereupon the engine or other motor may be set in motion to drive the'machine. Should the supply of pans be exhausted and the machine continue running, the pusher will bemoved transversely of the conveyers by the action of the worm or screw 25, impinging upon the stop collars 42 to shift the rod 34 and reverse the travel. After the machine is in operation, when the pusher has carried a gang of pans over onto the conveyer 4, said pans will be pressed against the trip bar 45 and push the same outward. The movement of the bar will be transmitted directly through the arm 46 to shift the shaft 31 and throw the pinion 32 into mesh with the pinion 27, thereby reversing the rotation of the worm and effecting a return travel of the pusher. When the pinions 27 and 32 are thus thrown in mesh, the weighted lever arm 71 is thrown slightly inward so that it holds the pinions in. mesh against the tendency of the bar 45 to swing inward and disengage them. When the pusher, on its return stroke, impinges against the outer stop collar 42, it pushes upon the shifting rod 34 to draw the pinion 32 out of mesh with the pinion 27 into neutral position, thereby raising the arm 71 and permitrestate ward movement of the bar 45 pulls the pinion. 32 into mesh with the pinion 26 whereupon the rotation of the worm will be again reversed and the pusher caused to carry a second gang of pans onto the conveyer 4.. The inward movement of the bar 45 and the shaft 31 is, of course, transmitted to the lever arm 71 which will swing outwardly or from the frame and hold the pinions 32 and 26 in mesh but this inward movement will not occur until the pans which have been fed against the bar 45 pass beyond the end of the bar, the pans clearing the bar before the pusher reachesits initial position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a carrier, a stationary platform interposed in the carrier whereby pans on the carrier will be pushed over the platform, means for temporarily arresting the travel of pans upon said platform, and means above the platform for de positing a loaf in the pan on the platform.

2; in an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a pan carrier, a platform interposed in said carrier, means in the platform for momentarily arresting the travel of the pans, a dropper disposed above the platform, means for feeding leaves to the dropper, and means operated by the dropper when delivering a loaf to the pan whereby the pan will be released. 3. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a pan carrier, a platform interposed in the carrier, a stop on the platform to arrest the movement of a pan, a dropper disposed above the platform, means for conveying loaves to the dropper, and connections between the dropper and the stop whereby when a loaf is received in the dropper the stop will be released and the loaf deposited in the pan.

4. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a conveyer, a platform interposed in the conveyer, a rock shaft disposed above the platform, a dropper carried by said rock shaft, a stop fitted in the platform, means for holding, the stop normally raised whereby to arrest the travel of a pan, a pitman connected with the rock shaft, and means operatively disposed between the pitman and the stop whereby when the dropper is actuated to deposit a loaf in the pan the stop will be released to permit the pan to resume its travel. I

5. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a dropper mounted for rocking movement, means for conveying loaves to the dropper, means for conveying pans to a point below the dropper, means for arresting travel of the pans ram/me below the dropper, and means controlled by the dropper for releasing the last-mentioned means.

6. In" an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of parallel oppositely moving conveyers arranged side byside, a pusher supported above the conveyers, and means above the conveyers acting directly on the pusher for effecting travel of said pusher transversely of the conveyers whereby to transfer articles from one to the other conveyer.

T. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of oppositely moving conveyers arranged side by side, a pusher disposed above the conveyers, means for operating said pusher transversely of the conveyers to transfer articles from one to the other conveyer, and means carried by the pusher to momentarily prevent travel of articles which are to be transferred.

8. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of oppositely moving conveyers arran ed side by side, a pusher disposed above the conveyers, means for eifectinn travel of the pusher transversely of the conveyers, and an arm projecting laterally from the pusher to extend trans; versely over one conveyer as the pusher transfers articles to the other conveyer.

9. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of oppositely moving conveyers disposedside by side, means for transferringarticles from one conveyer to the other conveyer, and means adjacent the last-mentioned conveyer to be actuated by the articles and cause return of the transfer means.

10. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of oppositely moving conveyers arranged side by side, a pusher disposed above the conveyers to transfer articles from one to the other conveyer, reverse gearing controlling the travel of the pusher, and trip mechanism rockingly mounted adjacent the outer edge of the second conveyer and arranged to be actuated bv the articles transferred thereto, said trip mechanism being operatively connected with the" reverse gearing.

11. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of oppositely moving conveyers arranged side by side, means for transferring articles from one to the other conveyer, and a guide adjacent and parallel with the side of that conveyer onto which the articles are transferred.

12. In apparatus for the purpose set forth,

the combination of a pan carrier, a dropper above the pan carrier, a plurality of stops arranged to arrest the pans on the carrier in position to receive an article from the dropper, and means for rendering one of said stops inoperative.

13. In apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a conveyer, a platform interposed in the conveyer over which con-,

14. In apparatus for the purpose set forth,

the combination of conveyers arranged side by side, a worm disposed above the conveyers and transversely thereto, a pusher operatively engaged on the worm to be moved thereby to transfer articles from one to the other conveyer, oppositely disposed gears on one end of the worm, a driving gear arranged between the gears on the worm to mesh with either of them, a shifting rod arranged parallel with the worm and connected with the driving gear, and means actuated by the pusher to slide the shiftipg rod and thereby throw the driving gear into mesh with one of the first-mentioned gears and control the direction of travel of the pusher. i

15. Inapparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of conveyers arranged side by side, a worm disposed above the conveyers and transversely thereto, a pusher operatively engaged on the worm to be moved thereby to transfer articles from one to the other conveyer, oppositely disposed gears on one end of the worm, a driving gear arranged between the gears on the worm to mesh with either of them, a shifting rod arranged parallel with the worm and connected with the driving gear, stops interposed in the path of the pusher whereby to slide the shifting rod and throw the driving gear into mesh with one of the firstmentionedgears and reverse the travel of the pusher, and a weighted arm fulcrumed above the driving gear and shiftable therewith to hold said gear in a set working position.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures. 

